January 16, 2009

Dennis Cooper has posted an amazing selection of YouTube Power Pop Videos (including this amazing "Tired Of Waking Up Tired" by The Diodes live at the Peppermint Lounge). So many songs I'd forgotten about, and so many I never imagined there was a video for.

April 14, 2005

"Three singles were released from the album: the title track b/w
“Rock'n'Roll 47,” “Trying To Find My Baby” b/w “Here She Come” and
“Looking For the Magic” b/w “Invasion” but all failed to catch on with
record buyers in what was becoming known as the age of disco; all three
came in the same picture sleeve with the album cover photo, but only
the first is commonly seen. In England, “Trying To Find My Baby” b/w
“Rock'n'Roll 47" and “Twilley Don't Mind” b/w “Looking For The Magic”
were issued on Arista UK, to good reviews but no significant sales. In
the early fall, they performed lip-synched versions of “That I
Remember,” “Chance To Get Away,” “Looking For The Magic,” and “Twilley
Don't Mind” on a Chris Beard-produced program called The W.A.C.K.O. Show ; intended to be a Saturday morning kids version of Laugh In ,
the program was barely on the air longer than it took to air their four
episodes in September and October. It was missed by most fans (who were
older) and didn't serve to attract a younger audience, either. A
pre-superstardom Tom Petty appeared on bass alongside Twilley, Seymour,
and Pitcock (Tom had guested on guitar on the album on “Looking For The
Magic,” and was just starting his long run of hits).." Excerpted from this amazing Twilley Band history.You can buy a tape on Dwight's site that contains this video and many more.Buy "Twilley Don't Mind"Looking For The Magic-Dwight Twilley Band .mov

March 02, 2005

"By early 1978, with the release of the final of the three singles,
“Looking For the Magic” (impossibly rare in its picture sleeve version,
darned rare even as a black label stock copy!), the band was beginning
to give up hope. They were booked to appear on Don Kirschner's Rock Concert
in April, 1978; the band, which included Twilley, Seymour, Pitcock,
Robbie Armstrong, and Bingo Sloan, performed four songs: “Twilley Don't
Mind,” “Trying To Find My Baby,” (these two survive, and we think
Dwight's two lead vocals were:) “Here She Come,” and “Chance To Get
Away.” It was an amazing performance, and a seriously incongruous
appearance, alongside The Sylvers in their silver spacesuits, and
Kansas. In a bit of bad luck so typical for The Dwight Twilley Band,
this appearance, which might well have put the album high in the
charts, was canceled because of legal problems over use of the footage
of the headliners, The Sex Pistols." From an amazing Twilley Band Bio by Kent H. BenjaminTwilley Don't Mind-Dwight Twilley Band.movYou can buy a tape on Dwight's site that contains this video and many more.

January 14, 2005

My favorite Twilley Band song from my favorite Twilley Band record (Great Lost Twilley LP is a close 2nd). I always attributed the amazing backwards guitar work to their usual guitarist Bill Pitcock IV but was shocked to learn, via some re-issue liner notes, that Roger Linn, inventor of the Linn Drum, is playing ALL (sounds like there's a lot of them too) the guitars and bass. He's still inventing stuff. "Baby Let's Cruise" is another classic from the 1st LP.Dwight Twilley Band-Sincerely.mp3Dwight Twilley Band-Baby Let's Cruise.mp3

January 01, 2005

One of my favorite bands of all time is The Dwight Twilley Band. I bought their debut single "I'm On Fire" when it came out in 1975 and they were the first band I ever went to see play in a nightclub ("Barnaby's" in Bridgeport CT- I was 12!). Their 1st LP "Sincerely" is a totally brilliant mix of Merseybeat guitars, Sun Studio slap-back and Everly Brothers harmonies.It's basically 2 guys from Tulsa, Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour,who met in line at a showing of "A Hard Day's Night" in 1969 and immediately went home and started writing songs and demoing them together. Completing the line-up was the brilliant guitarist Bill Pitcock IV. That was the whole studio band-Dwight played keyboards and rhythm guitar, Phil played drums AND bass (!) and Bill played lead guitar. Dwight has a website here (Turn down your speakers!). There's one dedicated to the late Phil Seymour here .You can buy "Sincerely" here. And there's a great article about the history of the Twilley Band here.Here's the demo version of one of the tracks off "Sincerely".Dwight Twilley Band-You Were So Warm (Demo).mp3